Why Jedi Need Attachments

 It's time to drop the spoiler embargo on The Book of Boba Fett. By now you know Luke Skywalker has met Ahsoka Tano, and has known of her for a while as they seemed comfortable together. You also know that Grogu has abandoned his Jedi training to re-unite with Din Djarin who now flies a modified Naboo Fighter, with Grogu taking the space meant for the droid, and is protected by a dome. Plus Grogu now wears a chain or armor made from the melted Beskar spear, so he will be safe from blaster fire and an enemy with a lightsaber. Luke made Grogu an offer, accept the Mandalorian's gift and end his training, or choose Yoda's lightsaber and stay. Well, Grogu made his choice. He chose who he had become attached to.

Now, maybe Grogu comes back to Luke to continue or finish his training. Maybe he doesn't. But one thing that is clear is that despite internet and YouTube rumors all roads lead to the sequels. We know the mistakes Luke will make. He has his Jedi Order based off the Galactic Republic. So no attachments. This is a problem that goes back to Anakin. Luke made a mistake by not letting Grogu choose both the lightsaber and the chain mail. That should have been an option. And with Din Djarin struggling to control the Darksaber, Din could have gone to Luke for training on how to use it. In Rebels, Kanan did this for Sabine when she possessed it. How cool would it have been to see Luke training Grogu in the ways of the Force and lightsaber training with Din Djarin. Big time missed opportunity! But let me get back to my point.

The Jedi at the time of The Phantom Menace are a monk-like order that has rejected attachments of all sorts. Jedi own their lightsabers, belt and clothing. They have a place to sleep, meditate and train. While technically this is an attachment it isn't the attachment the Jedi were talking about. Jedi needed to be free of personal attachments. That means no friends, no family, and no love. In Legends Jedi like Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan and Quinlan Vos had defied the attachment rule. All 3 Jedi fell in love. Obi-Wan and Quinlan had friends. Nothing really wrong with that. But Jedi shouldn't let those attachments be possessions. In Disney Canon the novel Master & Apprentice introduces us to a Jedi who is quite attached to his position, the planet he is working on and the young royal he is charged with protecting. He also has no problem hooking up with various women.  Jedi in the High Republic are actually more interesting. Take for instance lead Jedi Avar Kriss & Elzar Mann. They had sex. It hasn't officially been said but reading their interactions, yeah. They totally did. But, they didn't become obsessive about it. Their relationship didn't interfere with their duty, it was just a way to um, relieve the tension.

Now this is where Anakin comes into play. Anakin felt ashamed that he had to hide his relationship with Padme. He had been taught since he came to the Temple as a 9-10 year old that he needed to forgo his attachments. Growing up as a slave, Anakin had attachments. His mother for one, and his most important. She guided him until he left for the Temple, and raised him to be at heart a good person. But when he got to the Temple he was forced to put his mother to the side. He needed no distractions from his training. If he had any romantic feelings they too needed to be pushed away. Now for Vulcans this is done quite easily. But the Jedi make up numerous species. With humans, we know suppressed emotions are difficult and can be destructive. As it was in Anakin's case. Had Anakin been trained in the Temple as long as Obi-Wan had, perhaps when Shmi Skywalker-Lars was killed he might have reacted similar to how Obi-Wan reacted when Maul killed Satine. But, he went postal. His marriage to Padme was in secret but he became VERY possessive of her, as seen in Clone Wars Season 6 where he nearly killed Rush Clovis, who was at one time Padme's boyfriend and who Anakin perceived had been making romantic overtures to her. His unwillingness to let her go, and desire to stop what he perceived to be her death was what led Padme to dying and for Palpy to manipulate him into becoming Darth Vader.

But just as Anakin's attachments led to his transformation into Darth Vader, it was his attachment to his son Luke Skywalker that brought Anakin out of the shadow of Darth Vader. For years, Vader believed Palpy when he thought Padme had died without giving birth to his child. But when he learned the name of the Rebel pilot who destroyed the 1st Death Star was Luke Skywalker, and someone who like him was very powerful in the ways of the Force he knew he had been lied to. When he confronted Luke on Bespin, he couldn't bring himself to kill him. After all, it was his only living tie to Padme, that he knew of. It wouldn't be until Endor when he would learn he had a daughter. But when Palpy was frying Luke, from deep within Vader, Anakin Skywalker returned. He picked up Palpy and tossed him down the Death Star's power reactor. There's now way he could come back from that, right?! Right? Oh. Well. Moving on. It was Luke who was able to bring Anakin back, and knowing he had a daughter that enabled him to have the strength to kill (temporarily) Palpatine and save the galaxy. Thereby fulfilling (nullifying thanks to Disney) the prophecy about bringing balance to the Force.

In Legends, Luke was all about attachments. He wanted his Jedi to not only marry, but have children of their own to restore and continue a new Jedi Order. But in Disney Canon Luke doesn't have access to many ancient Jedi records. In this new era, the information of old is gone. So Luke clinging to the teachings of Jedi in the Galactic Republic make sense. It's what we see in BOBF. But what Luke and the Jedi of the Galactic Republic fail to understand is emotions. How can Jedi not understand who they face if they cannot allow themselves to feel? The politician who wants power, how can they differentiate between greed and ambition? How can they see if someone is acting out of love for their planet, their home or their mate? Understanding comes from experiences. The Jedi of the Galactic Republic didn't allow their Jedi to know this. High Republic Era Jedi did. But with the Empire restricting information of that time, Luke would be destined to bring a Jedi Order that would fail, according to Disney Canon.

Even in the OT, Luke had attachments. His friends. Han, Leia, Chewie and the Droids were his family. Heck, he was in love with Leia until he found out she was his sister which makes his time between A New Hop and Return of the Jedi awkward and uncomfortable. Which in Disney Canon makes his viewpoint about attachments quite acceptable. I'm not condoning it but I'm using Disney's logic. Luke was willing to sacrifice himself for his friends to live. Yet his friends risked their lives ro save him. Luke would even put off getting additional Jedi training in order to rescue Han Solo from Jabba the Hutt. Luke clearly was into attachments. He would even use his attachment to his father and would be able to lure Anakin back to the light side. But after ROTJ something would bring Luke off the path of attachment. Legends Luke embraced it, without the influence of Yoda, Obi-Wan and Anakin's Force ghosts. But with these Force ghost's in Disney Canon, Luke is either not told about why the Jedi failed or Luke simply ignores what they are telling him.

In the Revenge of the Sith novel, Yoda implies that part of the reason the Jedi failed is because they ignored the concept of attachments. Now it isn't considered Canon but it very well should. The Jedi Order Yoda hoped for would come true in Legends. Now that is being saved for Rey Skywalker (Palpatine), not for Luke. He has to fail. Which upsets many true, hard-core fans. The trick for the Jedi is not to allow their attachments to cloud their judgment. Luke wouldn't want his friends to walk into certain death alone, but he knew they would be able to overcome most situations in Legends. In Disney Canon he isn't around to help them as he cuts himself off from them. In Legends, he'd be right there with them. Luke needed his friends and family in Legends. They kept him grounded and they kept him humble. Now maybe, just maybe in Mandalorian Season 3 both Grogu and Din turn to Luke for training in order to help themselves in whatever problem they come across. But what is upsetting about Disney Canon is Luke has Ahsoka with him and no doubt knows why the Jedi failed her. But with that knowledge makes the same mistakes. It is frustrating. But sadly, all roads from this point lead to the Disney Trilogy. Sigh.